ImmuPharma struggles to convince investors in latest update

Shares in ImmuPharma fell even further on Thursday, as the ailing drug development company struggled to give shareholders some reassurance about its future in an update.

The AIM-traded firm’s late-stage asset for the autoimmune disease lupus - ‘Lupuzor’ - failed to meet its primary endpoint in its stage 3 trials last April, leading to a sharp decline in the company’s share price and its operational activities.

It said on Thursday that, following the conclusion of the trial, it was continuing to look at opportunities which over the longer term had the potential of bringing Lupuzor to market.

As part of that strategy, ImmuPharma said it was continuing to engage with potential corporate partners, as well as commencing a managed access programme.

It was currently in the final preparations for that managed access programme to open to eligible patients in Europe, the board confirmed, with further updates set to be provided in due course.

The Lupuzor open-label extension study, from the original phase 3 trial with a total of 62 eligible patients throughout the US and Europe, also remained on track to report results in the second quarter of 2019.

On the subject of the clinical development collaboration opportunity with the Nucant Cancer Programme, ImmuPharma had announced on 31 December that the exclusivity period for those talks was extended to 31 March.

Discussions were currently continuing, and an update would also be provided in due course.

Finally, ImmuPharma said that its subsidiary Ureka, based in Bordeaux, was currently focussing on transforming peptides into efficient drugs for treatments in a number of therapeutic areas, including type II diabetes and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Recently, a fundamental research paper on Ureka' proprietary technology 'Urelix' was published in the peer-reviewed research journal 'Nature Communications', the board noted.

ImmuPharma said it was continuing to look at “all options” regarding the progression of Ureka's assets, with that process said to be ongoing.

“We remain focussed on creating long term value throughout our portfolio through initiatives including the managed access programme for Lupuzor, whilst the company continues to engage with industry partners for potential collaboration opportunities on its projects,” said ImmuPharma chairman Tim McCarthy.

As at 1110 GMT, shares in ImmuPharma were down 4.31% at 12.2p.